DIII Notebook: Midweek Rivalries; Salisbury-Stevenson Intensity

Ken Stockmann has been giving his take on DIII all season. Check out his DIII notebook below and follow him on Twitter @Longstick33. For all of Wednesday night's results, check out the scoreboard.

(Inside Lacrosse Photo: Marty Corcoran)

Midweek games gave been some of the most entertaining all season. Just this week there has been six games with at least one ranked team that has been decided by three goals or less. Wednesday we were treated to five of those. A lot of times the games that are scheduled midweek are reserved for opponents that are close geographically. The proximity of the two teams adds a quite a bit to the matchup and creates a natural rivalry.

Denison and Ohio Wesleyan played Wednesday night, and the two schools are separated by just over 40 miles. Despite Denison being undefeated and ranked No. 4 in the USILA Coaches’ Poll and a decisive favorite over unranked and two-loss Ohio Wesleyan, they only won 10-9. The history of the rivalry that is fueled by the proximity and being conference opponents, and it creates a great matchup every time the two teams get together.

Another example was on Tuesday night when No. 13 Springfield and No. 18 Amherst got together for a midweek tilt. The two schools are only 25 miles apart and they play each other every season. In this case the underdog Amherst Lord Jeffs were able to pull the upset and won 13-12.

Cortland and Nazareth played their yearly matchup Wednesday afternoon. Even though Nazareth is having a disappointing season by their standards — just a 6-7 record entering the game — they were able to keep it close and lost by only three goals in a 12-9 defeat. Just about 100 miles and a two-hour drive up Route 81 and then West on the NYS Thruway separate the two traditional Upstate DIII powers.

Stevenson sneaking by Widener, 9-7, in a MAC Commonwealth matchup was another great game this week. Lynchburg beat Washington & Lee, 11-8, in an ODAC conference game between two teams from Virginia.

In the quite possibly the game of the day No. 1 RIT was able to get by No. 9 Union in a Liberty League game between the two Upstate teams.

Too often during the week there are some really good games being played, and you’re really missing out if you’re not making it out to one or watching one of the great free internet feeds that are available.

Games to Watch

No. 3 Salisbury at No.2 Stevenson, 7 p.m. Saturday

Some people thought the rivalry between the Sea Gulls and Mustangs might lose some of the intensity and importance when Stevenson departed the Capital Athletic Conference for the MAC Commonwealth Conference, but it seems as if it has gained momentum. Last season the teams met twice with Stevenson winning both contests, once in the regular season and once again in the NCAA semifinals. This will be the 15th meeting between these two teams, and it has huge implications for the postseason. The winner of Saturday’s game will most likely have the No. 1 seed in the southern bracket of the NCAA tournament and with that receive a bye into the second round and home-field advantage throughout the tournament.

On paper these two teams are about as evenly matched as they could be. On defense, Stevenson is allowing just 6.84 goals per game, and Salisbury is averaging 6.29 gpg. Both teams have goalies who are having All-America seasons: Dimitri Pecunes is saving the ball at 54.5% for the Mustangs, and Alex Taylor is just a touch better at 58.6% for the Sea Gulls. On offense they are separated by just .33 goals per game with Salisbury holding the slight edge with 14.12 and Stevenson at 13.79.

One decisive advantage Stevenson takes into the game is at the face-off. Brent Hiken, who was drafted by the MLL’s Denver Outlaws in the second round, has been dominant all season and is winning at .707%. If for some reason is having an off day, Justin Buonomo can step in and is winning .623% of his draws. Chris Biank is the primary FOGO for Sailsbury and will provide a strong matchup for HIken with his .579%.

Stevenson currently has a record of 13-1 and is coming off of a 9-7 win over Widener on Wednesday night. With the win the Mustangs improved to 6-0 in MAC Commonwealth Conference and have yet to lose a conference game since coming over from the CAC to start the 2013 season. The Mustangs haven’t been ranked lower than No. 5 in the USILA Coaches’ Poll all season and have now won 12 games in a row. They feature four players on offense that have scored over 20 goals so far this season; Stephen Banick (26G, 15A), Glen Tompkins (24, 16), Tony Rossi (20, 11), and Colin Dabney (22, 6). Chris Dashiell (9, 19) has developed into a role as the primary feeder on offense and is a big threat with the ball in his stick to initiate offense. On April 5, coach Paul Cantabene’s team was the first team to score 30 goals on an opponent in a 30-0 defeat of Alvernia.

Salisbury is 15-1 and defeated Marymount a conference opponent 15-3 Wednesday evening. This game will be the Sea Gulls regular-season finale and will be their final game before the CAC playoffs. It will also be the seventh game against a top 20 opponent this year. Their offense is deep and balanced and evidenced by the fact that they have six players with over 30 points to this point; Rhet DePol (24, 29), Luke Phipps (27, 18), Mike Kane (32, 4), Donovan Lange (21, 13), Thomas Cirillo (23, 7), Sean Fitzgerald, (18, 12). Nine different players have led the team in scoring in at least one game this season. Coach Jim Berkman’s team has scored in double digits in every game this year with the exception of one a 8-7 loss to Christopher Newport.

No. 17 Wesleyan at No. 8 Tufts, 1 p.m. Saturday

The two top teams in the NESCAC will meet in a game that will go a long way in helping to decide who will be the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC tournament. Both teams have tough opponents in their final regular season games next week but as the only two teams in the conference with just one loss the winner will hold their own destiny heading into next week.

Tufts has been among the highest scoring offenses this season and is averaging a whopping 18.85 goals per game, scoring over 20 goals in seven games. Their record on the year is 11-2 and in the two games they have lost they only managed nine and eight goals, respectively. So clearly the key to beating the Jumbos is to keep them under 10 goals, which is incredibly easier said than done. John Uppgren (40G, 37A), a sophomore attackman, is having a breakout season and is leading the team in scoring this season. Chris Schoenhut (51, 4) is leading the Jumbos in goals this spring and is shooting the ball at .500%. In addition to those two big time scorers Tufts has returning All-America attackmen Cole Bailey (30, 39) and Beau Wood (43, 19), who are both having great seasons again. Coach Mike Daly’s team averages 56.2 shots per game and is one of the leaders in that category in DIII. Connor Helfrich is winning .609% of his face-off attempts and is allowing the offense all those extra opportunities that are helping to generate all of those shots. Patton Watkins has been playing well in goal and is saving the ball at .529%.

Wesleyan is 10-3 on the season and is coming off of an 11-10 win over Bowdoin last Saturday. The Cardinals are known for their zone defense, and it’s been successful again this season holding teams to just 7.77 goals per game. Offensively they are being led by junior attackman Matt Prezioso (28, 9) who is leading the team in both goals and assists. Quentin DellaFera (24, 3), Graham Macnab (16, 8), and Aiden Daniell (13, 7) round out the players who have over 20 points so far this season. Justin Schick (.552%) has started the last three games for coach John Raba’s team and is 3-0 in his starts.

The major question for this game will be if Wesleyan’s zone will be able to slow down Tufts' high-scoring offense. If the Cardinals can dictate the pace of the game with their defense and a ball control offense they could pull the upset.

Other Games to Watch

— No. 20 Gettysburg at No. 5 Washington College, 1 p.m. Saturday

— No. 16 York at Christoper Newport, 4 p.m. Saturday

— Bowdoin at No. 15 Endicott, 1 p.m. Saturday

— Roanoke at Hampden-Sydney, 7 p.m. Saturday

— St. Lawrence at RPI, 1 p.m. Saturday

Quick Points

— RIT (14-0), Denison (14-0), and Keuka (10-0) are all still undefeated.

— Aurora is allowing just 4.8 goals per game. Aurora beat MSOE 35-1 which was the largest win-margin of the season so far.